A Key Healthcare Vote, Lieberman Denies Report On His Support For Public Option

November 3, 2009 1:24 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Less than a week after saying he would campaign for the GOP in 2010, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is shooting down a report that he has reached an agreement with Democrats about his opposition to a public option. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is seeking enough votes for a healthcare reform proposal that he said would have a government insurance plan.

In a statement to FOX, Lieberman spokesman Marshall Wittmann said, "If you believe this story is true, you will also believe that I am replacing A-Rod in game six of the series."

"The suggestion reported in the Hill that Senator Lieberman has made a 'private understanding' on his votes on health care reform is absolutely not true," Wittmann added. "Senator Lieberman's clear position is that he will vote for the motion to proceed to the health care bill because he supports health care reform that will control costs and insure people who don't have it now, but will oppose cloture on a final bill if it contains a public option."

The Hill earlier in the day reported that the lawmaker had "reached a private understanding" with Reid that he will not join a Republican filibuster of the legislation. But the report also quoted a Wittman as saying the senator would oppose a final bill if this included a government insurance plan.

Senate Democrats have a 60-vote majority, the minimum required to overcome GOP filibusters, but this number includes Lieberman and another independent who caucuses with Democrats, Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT).

Reid last week moved closer to holding floor debate on a healthcare bill, sending a measure merged from the bills of the late Ted Kennedy and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring. He also announced that the legislation would include an opt-out public option as well as non-profit insurance cooperatives, a proposal that a few weeks ago seemed to have the most support among Senate Democrats.

Around the same time, Lieberman said he would join Republicans in blocking the legislation on the floor, and would campaign for the GOP next year. The four-term senator, who became an "independent-Democrat" in 2006 and was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000, nearly lost his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee for keynoting the first full night of Republican National Convention last year.

On Monday, he penned an op-ed in the Hartford Courant saying, "Rather than focusing on what works and fixing what doesn't, Congress is getting bogged down in a divisive debate over whether to create a government-run health insurance company - the so-called public option."

"Making taxpayers assume the financial burden for an expansive new government entitlement program will make it harder for us to save Medicare," Lieberman added."A new public option will likely increase premiums for the 170 million Americans who already have private insurance."

Democrats support a public option because they argue it would help make the costs overhauling the nation's healthcare system and expanding coverage to the 47 million uninsured more affordable. The GOP says it would cause more job losses, harm small businesses, and would not reduce costs nor provide insurers with fair competition.

The final bill for Senate floor debate has a limited public option proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that will let states decide if they want to participate in a national program. It also has non-profit insurance cooperatives, a key element of the bill reported out by the Finance Committee.

In the House, three bills have been merged into a measure that Democrats are reportedly making final revisions on so it can be introduced on the floor this week. One of the issues is the language on abortion, which Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) said last week "still does not do enough to prevent federal funding from going to abortion services."